Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2018-08-21

Establishment of a temperature controlled Warehouse at Dambulla to store Agricultural Produce

- A proposal has been made to establish a Warehouse in close proximity to the Economic Centre at Dambulla with a temperature controlled facility on an investment of Rs.475 million to enable the small and medium scale farmers engaged specially in the cultivation of fruits and vegetables to store their produce in a state of freshness for a long period. Since the availability of a continuous market could be guaranteed for the crops harvested seasonally, a stable price could be maintained for such crops by minimizing the price fluctuations of the products. The Government of India has agreed to grant Rs.300 million out of the said investment. Accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Ranil Wickremasinghe, the Prime Minister in his capacity as the Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs, to secure the funds necessary for the establishment of a temperature controlled Warehouse at Dambulla and to formulate a mechanism for the management of same, was approved by the Cabinet.